Beirut Port freight activity rose to around 453 thousand tons during the month of July 2023, up from 445 thousand tons in the previous month. Moreover, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 1.98% y-o-y to 3,004 thousand tons during the first seven months of 2023 up from 2,945 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose to 760 in comparison with 671 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars rose markedly to 35,145 as people flocked to buying cars ahead of any increases in the applicable exchange rate for calculating customs rates. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 473.328 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to July 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 395.142 thousand TEUs during the same period last year.